Who is Dineshwar Sharma? Meet the man given responsibility to initiate dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir as interlocutor

Who is Dineshwar Sharma? Meet the man given responsibility to initiate dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir as interlocutor

In a big decision, the Central government on Monday evening gave former IB Director Dineshwar Sharma the responsibility to initiate talks with the elected representatives of Jammu and Kashmir, political parties, different organisations and people.

In a big decision, the Central government on Monday evening gave former IB Director Dineshwar Sharma the responsibility to initiate talks with the elected representatives of Jammu and Kashmir, political parties, different organisations and people. The announcement was made by Home Minister Rajnath Singh during a press conference. The senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that the government has decided to start a sustained dialogue in J&K with an aim to bring peace to the Valley. For this, the former IB Director Dineshwar Sharma will be Government of India’s representative in the region. Singh added that Sharma’s rank will be equivalent to that of a Cabinet Secretary. “As a representative of GoI, Dinesh Sharma will initiate sustained interaction and dialogue to understand legitimate aspirations of people in J&K,” he said. In case you don’t know who is Dineshwar Sharma, here are few facts about him:

1. Dineshwar Sharma is a Bihar-born, Kerala-Cadre Indian Police Service officer of the 1979 batch. He was the chief of the Intelligence Bureau and served at a wide variety of command & staff positions in various Police, Paramilitary & Intelligence agencies.

2. He was appointed as the IB chief in 2014 and has experience of handling issues like separatism and insurgencies to regional and domestic politics.

3. He has previously served in Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Lucknow in various capacities.

4. He has attended training on Intelligence work and Policing methods in East Germany, Poland, Israel and South Korea. Apart from this, he has also worked with the National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval during his earlier stint as IB chief.

5. Interestingly, Sharma had first qualified for the Indian Forest Service and later for IPS.

Reacting to the news of his appointment, Sharma said that it is a huge responsibility and he will look to live up to expectations. “It’s a big responsibility, hope I live up to expectations,” he told ANI on appointment as GoI representative for dialogue in J&K.